I hope the standings don't change before the NCAA's ...

[Wonkster]

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... and that the Selection Committee plays it straight.

I'd rather see UConn paired up with Stanford in the semifinal game, rather than facing either Notre Dame or Baylor. If UConn beats Stanford, then they wouldn't have to defeat both Notre Dame and Baylor to take the title, which you have to admit is a tall order.

Any opposing opinions?
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[EricLA]

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... and that the Selection Committee plays it straight.

I'd rather see UConn paired up with Stanford in the semifinal game, rather than facing either Notre Dame or Baylor. If UConn beats Stanford, then they wouldn't have to defeat both Notre Dame and Baylor to take the title, which, you have to admit, is a tall order.

Any opposing opinions?
.

there has been a lot of discussion as to how the committee places the teams in regions. from what i understand, it has more to do with draws and geography than pairings based on the S-curve (1 vs. 64, 2 vs. 63, etc). by the time you look at the top 8 seeds, it's almost never 1 vs 8, 2 vs, 7, etc...

 

[Wonkster]

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Eric - this year it's a no-brainer: UConn in the East, Baylor in the South, Notre Dame in the Midwest, and Stanford in the West. The only real question is how do you pair them?

UConn needs East vs West for the first game of the Final Four - it's that simple, and it's fully justified by the current poll standings.
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[alexrgct]

That would certainly be my preference. If the four #1s end up being who we suspect, I'd much prefer to face Stanford that Baylor in the semis. And Notre Dame is my absolute last choice for the semis. Playing a team four times, which is the likely scenario, sucks!

 

[EricLA]

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Eric - this year it's a no-brainer: UConn in the East, Baylor in the South, Notre Dame in the Midwest, and Stanford in the West. The only real question is how do you pair them?

UConn needs East vs West for the first game of the Final Four - it's that simple, and it's fully justified by the current poll standings.
.

i thought that was already predetermined based on the regions. on the "brackets" i've seen, Kingston (UCONN) and Fresno (Stanford) are on the left and Raleigh (ND) and Des moins (Baylor) on the right. are you saying that's not predetermined and that Kingston could end up playing Raleigh in the Final 4? if true, i did not know that...

 

[DobbsRover2]

You're using the ESPN pundits FF pick logic --the four #1 seeds are always the picks for the FF -- which never turns out that way. Last year we all know how glad #1 UConn was to see ND in the semis instead of UTenn (not) or Stanford to see lowly Texas A&M instead of Baylor (well, maybe). During the last 4 years that UConn has made it to the FFs, only 33% (3 of 9) of their fellow FF-mates have been #1 teams, and not once did the Huskies face a #1 in the semis. So rather than focusing in on which #1 team UConn would play in the semis, from recent trends it appears to make more sense to look at which #2, #3 or #4 seed team they would play.

The last 7 times UConn has been to the FF, they have not faced a #1 seed in the semis. And only twice in the 9 times UConn has gone to semis as a #1 seed have they faced a fellow #1, UTenn in 1996 and ND in 2001. Expect the unexpected.

 

[UConnCat]

i thought that was already predetermined based on the regions. on the "brackets" i've seen, Kingston (UCONN) and Fresno (Stanford) are on the left and Raleigh (ND) and Des moins (Baylor) on the right. are you saying that's not predetermined and that Kingston could end up playing Raleigh in the Final 4? if true, i did not know that...

The Selection Committee's Principles and Procedures states the following regarding the regional match-ups in the bracket and FF:

Place the teams seeded 1‐4 in each of the four regions pairing the No. 1 seed’s region against the No. 4 seed’s ​

region and the No. 2 seed’s region against the No. 3 seed’s region. ​

​

Thus, how the four #1s are initially seeded will determine the match-ups. If UConn and ND are both fortunate enough to make it to the FF, they will play in the semis if they are ranked #2 and #3 among the four #1 seeds. BTW, teams are not reseeded once the FF is determined, though there has been talk of that in the past regarding the men's tournament.​

 

[Wonkster]

i thought that was already predetermined based on the regions. on the "brackets" i've seen, Kingston (UCONN) and Fresno (Stanford) are on the left and Raleigh (ND) and Des moins (Baylor) on the right. are you saying that's not predetermined and that Kingston could end up playing Raleigh in the Final 4? if true, i did not know that...

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I'm not saying anything, Eric, except my preference! I didn't look at the brackets and wasn't even sure they were out yet. Based on what you've said, things will turn out fine for UConn, assuming they win out through the BE Tournament (a big assumption).
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[meyers7]

I hope the standings don't change before the NCAA's

Me either. That would most likely mean we beat ND on the 27th and won the BE tourney.

Sounds good to me.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

I don't think anyone in the Big 12 can beat Baylor, so they are a lock for the number
one 1 seed. So if we beat ND twice we obviously stay at two and ND won't be able
to jump Stanford (even though, like most folks, I think ND is better than Stanford).

If we split the last two games with ND, I'm not sure what will happen.

 

[rington]

I don't think anyone in the Big 12 can beat Baylor, so they are a lock for the number
one 1 seed. So if we beat ND twice we obviously stay at two and ND won't be able
to jump Stanford (even though, like most folks, I think ND is better than Stanford).

If we split the last two games with ND, I'm not sure what will happen.

Yes, a split would be a problem. Would more emphasis be placed on the final of the BE tourney (if it is ND-Uconn) rather than on the Feb. 27th game?

 

[pap49cba]

ND faces the daunting task of beating Uconn twice on our home court(s). I'm worried about a possible 4th game as per last year.

 

[Icebear]

ND already has their one win for the year. That's all they are allowed.

 

[MarieM]

i would love to seee ND and stanford play this yeatr though